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From: Kenny J.
Email: kjosephson@sprintmail.com
Remote Name: 206.133.195.169
Date: August 29, 2002
I'm facing a full rebuild on my '59 Poly 318, so I am printing this info and placing it in my service manual so I can find it & give it to my machine shop. I've received a lot of correspondence off list about "go fast" mods I can make to this engine, but I want to retain a torque and horsepower curve that will work well with my wide ratio three speed manual and 3.54 gears. The treatment of the '58 really disgusts me. So many present day mechanics seem to assume the older cars are a "piece of cake" to work on (they are if you are familiar with them) and then they find out they don't know their way around a carburetor, breaker point ignition, generator charging system, non-electronically controlled transmission, etc. I am of the opinion that simply replacing non-serviceable components and simply plugging a diagnostic machine into a plug under the dash has made some so-called mechanics both lazy and unimaginative. If the morons at a new car dealership will "clean" the change out of your late model Toyota's console or get grease on your carpet, they certainly aren't going to respect a nice, mostly original forty three year old Plymouth. I had one young jerk at a transmission shop (I wasn't about to change a clutch in a three quarter ton pick up in 110 degree heat by myself so I decided to "pay the man") throw away my bellhousing inspection cover so my clutch could "breath" and then reroute my starter/ignition harness between the exhaust manifold and the passenger side cylinder head instead running it down behind the block and of attaching it to bellhousing as the factory did (he said it made for a "cleaner" installation.) On the way home, my starter harness melted and shorted out, leaving me stranded on the expressway. The shop made good on everything it cost me, but I'll never go back to them. Another coworker took a '74 Eldorado convertible to a shop for a water pump replacement. The car began to overheat with the A/C running after she got it back. The moron threw away her fan shroud and several other front end pieces and when confronted, tried to tell her, "You don't need that stuff. The factory overbuilds these cars to keep the U.A.W. happy." She had to threaten to sue in order to get the parts replaced. I believe some of these dirt bags and punks spend their break time sitting on the toilet reading "go fast" tricks in teeny-bopper car magazines and decide to experiment on their customers' vehicles. Hang in there with that '58. It sounds like it will be a really fine example of Mopar history when you get it done! :-)
